Utilities back on form in the mid-week money sections

Utilities were the heavy weights in this week’s mid-week money sections. They accounted for 22% of the stories – a massive leap from the 5% of last week and 0% of a fortnight ago. Could this be due to the clocks going back? The nights are drawing in resulting in more lights being turned on and forecasts of a harsh winter mean more of us are reaching for that radiator (at MRM HQ 70% of us have already resorted to switching on the heating). Maybe time to follow the advice in the Express and get your act together to avoid missing out on energy bill deals.

 

Savings articles continued to hold sway this week too, accounting for 22% of the stories. One particular article that caught our eye was Sylvia Morris’ piece in the Daily Mail. Unlike the usual doom and gloom approach to savings (low interest rates, high charges, hidden costs, woe is us etc), Morris was considerably upbeat. She advised savers to go online for best instant access rates and noted how several accounts have actually INCREASED their interest rates.

Credit card stories also made an appearance in the money sections. There having been no stories for the past three weeks on credit cards, they accounted for 10% of the articles this week. This is thanks to the interest generated by the new “contactless credit cards”. As was explained in the Express and the Mail, these cards don’t require a chip and pin, but instead, a swipe and go. However, is speed a fair price to pay for these cards which are undeniably easier for thieves to steal and use themselves…time will tell.

The other scores this week were:

Charity                  0%

Credit cards        10%

Fraud/scams      6%

IFAs                       0%

Insurance            15%

Investment        10%

Mortgages          5%

Pensions              10%

Regulation          0%

Savings                 22%

Tax                         0%

Utilities                 22%